In a surgical operating room, the scrub nurse or scrub technician manages an assortment of surgical instruments. When not in use, these instruments are placed on a tray, denoted a Mayo stand. When a surgeon verbally requests one of the instruments, the technician takes the instrument off the Mayo stand and hands it to the surgeon. When finished with the instrument, the surgeon lays the instrument down in an area that can be referred to as the “drop zone.” At this point, the technician retrieves the instrument from the drop zone and returns it to the Mayo stand, so that it is ready to be used again.
It is desired that the tasks of the technician be performed by a robotic device, so that the tasks are performed with greater speed and economy.
The present invention describes how the tasks of the scrub technician can be automated using the technologies of speech recognition, machine vision, robotic arm path planning, and artificial intelligence. The present invention discloses prototypes capable of performing the essential job functions of a human scrub technician. One prototype comprises a five (5) degree of freedom robotic arm with a electromagnetic gripper, a digital camera which surveys the instrument drop zone, and means to provide voice recognition and voice synthesis capabilities. Furthermore, in addition to these physical and sensory capabilities, the prototype can have a higher-level cognitive layer integrating these basic functions.
Devices within the scope of the present invention perform traditional scrub tech functions faster and more accurately than do the human scrub technicians. Further advantages of the devices may include the following: The device can be more adaptable to a variety of surgeons. For example, surgeons have considerable individual preferences and variations in terms of instruments and patterns of instrument usage. A human scrub technician will have difficulty remembering preferences and variations of even a single surgeon, especially when that technician is not assigned to that surgeon a regular basis. On the other hand, a robotic device of the present invention will be able to adapt to the individual surgeon's preferences, and, remember these preferences from case to case. This would provide the surgeon with the benefit of having an assistant who is readily adapted to the surgeon's individual style. Separately, devices of the present invention will be more suitable to inventory functions. A robotic device of the present invention provides a high level of security and of accuracy in terms of counting and tracking the instruments used in a case. With a human technician, keeping accurate count and accounting for each and every instrument used in a case continues to be a source of some difficulty and concern for the hospital operating room staff. Also, since the robotic device is always available in the operating room, it may eliminate or reduce the need for overtime staffing, which may not always be readily available as desired and which in any event is an extra expense for the hospital.